


The Waterboy

by 3levetoi



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Awkward First Times, Bottom Arthur, Bottom Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Smut, Homophobic Language, M/M, Merlin/Arthur - Freeform, Merthur - Freeform, Power Dynamics, Semi-Public Sex, besides Merlin being a ridiculously good lay, no magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:29:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22460368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3levetoi/pseuds/3levetoi
Summary: Arthur isn't gay.He's got it made. He's the star pupil of his class, the prized quarterback for the Camelot High Dragons, and even has an amazing girlfriend, that keeps him on his toes.His whole career has been laid out for him.Arthur knows who he is and what he wants... or at least until the football team accepts a new member-but he definitely isn't gay!
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 440





	1. Prologue

  
Merlin (of course) was new to Camelot High. He had never seen a school so big and was not as overwhelmed as he was excited. 

He had just moved from a small town in the country, where the graduating class had no more than one hundred students. He was thankful to get out of a place where everyone knew everything about everyone. 

He kissed a boy _one time_ and the _whole_ prayer circle came to his door to berate his mother.She knew that the values they held, weren’t values that she wanted for her child, so she picked up and moved.

Merlin was happy for the move, since he only had one friend after The Incident, but getting used to the new way of things would be tough. He’d only just moved in a few days ago, and everything seemed to move at a faster pace in Camelot. There were more than just two decent restaurants that were within walking distance from his house! 

The only downside so far is that the city sounds never stopped. He was used to crickets chirping and frogs croaking while he was trying to sleep, but never people noises. It kept him awake.Or maybe it was his nerves, or perhaps some combination of the two.

He didn’t know what to expect, having come from a town that was a bit behind the times having not yet divided of church and state. The rules will be completely different, and everyone else already knows them.

_Will there be some sort of culture shock? Don’t be stupid!_ He thought to himself, _you only grew up five hours from here!_

Although five hours in America might mean a few countries over anywhere else. 

He rolled over in his bed. The clock glared at him and illuminated 3:09 am. 

He groaned.

His new room still seemed novel. He wondered how long that would last.

**3:46 am**

_Oh god. I’m going to be a wreck tomorrow._

  
  


Eventually he got himself to sleep, and did not feel as awful in the morning as he thought he would. He even got himself up a little early to get himself mentally prepared. 

Nothing could have prepared him for the grand polished entrance of Camelot High. 

“Merlin?” 

He snapped back to reality.

“Is that you? I mean you look new, by the way you’re… looking at things…” A short, nervous girl approached him. 

Merlin smiled confusedly, “I’m sorry, have we…?”

“Met? Oh, no. Sorry, I’m Guinevere, but mostly people just call me Gwen. I’m here to show you around.” She was cute. Bubbly with a tinge of awkwardness.

“I’m so glad, I’ve never seen a school this big.”

She laughed. “Where are you from?”

“Ealdor… have you heard of it?”

She thought for a second and then shrugged, “No, I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright it’s not very notable.”

She seemed nice enough even if she was being paid to be his friend for an afternoon. He was very glad that she was, however, because all of the hallways looked more or less the same. 

Merlin knew that he would forget all this by tomorrow.

“Here is your biology class. Mr. Housting is… well- Here’s your biology class. You’ll have it after lunch.”

“And where is lunch?”

“Ah! Yes, that’s a good idea!” She started rambling on again, “The principal is pretty stern, Mr. Pendragon, hopefully, you’ll never have to meet him. His son goes to this school, you know. He’s kind of a dick, to be honest, but we can’t all win.”

Merlin could not help but marvel over the ludicrousy of the school’s cafeteria. 

“We have an ice cream machine and we get sushi on Fridays.”

“Holy shit.” 

The cafeteria was bustling. Students were laughing and chatting away. It was your picture perfect Hollywood High School. 

High School Musical would be proud.

“Hey, Gwen! Who’s this handsome boy?” A startlingly attractive girl wrapped her arms around the tour guide. 

“This is Merlin, he’s new here so be extra kind to him.”

“And to think I’d be anything else!” She looped her arm around Merlin’s and started strolling along. 

“D’you mind if I hijack your tour, Guinevere?”

“Uh, actually-” Gwen stuttered.

“K, thanks!”

Merlin felt himself blushing, and his ears go red.

“Well, Merlin” She cooed, “Where’d you come from?”

“Nowhere you’ve heard of.” He smiled. 

“Fair point. Well, this is the Art Wing, if you couldn’t tell by the art hanging everywhere.”

“I’ve never taken an art class before. We didn’t have the funding.”

“Oh you poor child. Let’s go meet some of the teachers.”

* * *

After a very long winded tour of the rest of the school, (including some of the places he’d already seen but she’d hear none of it,) it was his block for lunch. Merlin decided to venture out into the courtyard. There weren’t many people out yet considering it was pretty early. He wasn't nervous about having no one to sit with. He’d already made two friends and there was plenty of time to make more.

As more people filed out into the courtyard, there was one kid who everyone seemed to actively avoid. Until a group of boys all sat down unnervingly close to him. The closest one to him, the blond one, picked up the kid’s sandwich and took a bite. 

The kid didn’t look at him, he just looked dejectedly at his tray. 

“‘Scuse me,” Merlin found himself saying towards the blond, “ I don’t believe that’s yours.” 

The blond looked up at him in bewildered amusement. 

“I _believe_ all of this is mine.” he wrapped his arm around the kid, “right, John?” 

John nodded nervously.

“Don’t you think four against one is a bit of an unfair advantage?” 

The blond scowled. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” 

“I’m Merlin, I’m new.” 

“You must be, _Merlin_ , because you don’t quite seem to get how things work around here. I can teach you if you like.” Arthur snickered. 

The blond and his crew stood up and started to walk towards Merlin.

“I’m not looking for trouble, I’m just saying maybe you and your steroids gang could stop being assholes to this kid?”

By now they were standing nose to nose, and as brave as he was, Merlin was doing all that he could to appear unwavering and unafraid.

“Then who would we be assholes to! What are you going to do, hit me?” 

The idea hadn’t struck Merlin, but now he supposed he had to. He clenched his fist and took a swing, and in one quick movement, the guy had Merlin’s arm pinned behind his back. 

“How about you go be an asshole to the Principal and see where that gets you?” Merlin grunted.

“Oh! He wants me to pay a visit to my dad, how sweet!”

The boys snickered.

Out of the blue, a man stepped outside and shouted “Arthur Pendragon! Let go of him right now!” 

The blond gave a sharp tug on his arm, which he was sure to feel in the morning, and let go. 

“He threw the first punch, I was only protecting myself.” He stated in a calm dignified manner.

Merlin found himself sat in front of a very old counselor. 

“You couldn’t even make it through lunch without an altercation? What is it… Merlin? On your first day, no less.” 

Merlin didn’t know what to say. 

“My name is Giaus, but you can call me Giaus. Where are you from?”

 _The third person to ask me that today._ “Ealdor.”

“And did you get into a lot of fights in Ealdor?”

“Not one.”

“So then, why is it that it happened here?”

Again, Merlin was silent. He didn’t want to throw that Arthur kid under the bus even if it had been his fault. Merlin already suspected there wouldn’t be much repercussion for him even if he had. Then he’d just be a nark, and no one likes a nark.

As if he read his mind Giaus added, “look, we all know that Arthur Pendragon is no saint. Did he do something to warrant this?”

Merlin thought for a second before he shook his head.

Giaus sighed. “Alright. Well I don’t want to see you here again, or we’ll have to do something about it. Understood?”

Merlin nodded.

“That’s enough excitement for one day, I think. You better get going to class, you’ve got...biology, how exciting. Do you know where that is?”

“I’ll manage, thanks.”

With that, Merlin slipped out of the room.

  
  
  


Merlin sat in what was now his usual place in the courtyard. He was half-way through his chicken patty when he saw Arthur and his gang sauntering towards him. 

“Look who didn’t get the memo.”

Merlin got up without saying anything.

“Awe, c’mon Merlin, don’t leave.”

Merlin paused

“I’m already halfway through this sandwich but you can have the rest since you like taking things from people.”

“He speaks!”

“Look, I knew you were an ass, I just didn’t know you were a royal one.”

“Excuse me?!” Arthur scoffed, amazed.

“Would you like me to repeat myself?” 

“You can’t talk to me like that.”

“Why not?” 

Arthur and Merlin were mere inches away from each other. The anger and tension could be cut with scissors. Merlin’s palms were sweaty. He felt all eyes on him.

“I’ll get you thrown out.”

More than anything, he felt Arthur’s eyes on him. They still had a glimmer of amusement, but it seemed to be waning.

“Is that so?” Merlin prodded.

He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to be left alone. 

In an act of sheer impulse, Merlin grabbed Arthur by the face and kissed him. Not out of want, as much as asserting dominance in a situation that was past words. 

Arthur took a few steps back, but Merlin was still there.

When he let go, Arthur’s face was beet red, which matched nicely with the look of pale rage. 

Merlin made a show about wiping his mouth on his sleeve and smiling, as the gang started to rush Arthur away.

“ _Fucking Faggot!_ ”Arthur screamed, trying to get the last word in.

Merlin looked around, and realized that he had amassed an audience. There was even a crowd watching from the windows.

Amidst the crowd was a very angry Principal Pendragon. 

“Merlin Emrys, this way please.”

  
  



	2. The Real First Chapter

“What is he doing here?” 

Arthur turned his head and scowled when he saw Merlin walking onto the field. The coach grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Alright team, we’ve got a new member today, so give him a warm welcome. Alright, this is Merlin, he’s my new assistant. Say ‘hi,’ Merlin.” 

“Hi…” He didn’t make eye contact with anyone. 

“Great. I want you all to run four laps around the field, and the last one to finish will run a fifth.”

The boys ran to the starting line. Arthur, bumped shoulders with Merlin in passing and uttered “try not to be too slow, Waterboy.” 

Merlin sat on the sidelines by himself.

_I’ll make sure to bring a book next time._

The whole situation was ludicrous. 

He was ridiculously bored. He didn’t know the first thing about football. All there was to do was to watch a bunch of boys run around in circles. 

_This is going to be hell._ He thought.

He started betting in his head who was going to finish first and who would last. Arthur wasn’t the fastest, but he kept a surprisingly steady pace. It was kind of amusing to see his face grow red and his hair stick to his forehead. Merlin thought he could maybe make it half a lap before he’d collapse on the floor.

As Arthur turned the last corner, in a huff, his stride slowed. He started walking towards where Merlin was sitting.

“Well?” 

Merlin was already busy getting two other kids their water.

“Give me a second.”

After what felt like ages, Arthur was finally given his cup. He finished it and threw it on the ground. 

“Hey, maybe next time you could, you know, throw it in the trash.” Merlin said, basically ignoring the line of kids waiting for him.

“Maybe next time you could be mediocre at your job instead of just awful.” 

“I was just waiting for your face to turn a natural color, ass-”

“Hey! Are we going to have a problem here?!” Coach interrupted.

“No.” Merlin chirped.

“Arthur? I know we aren’t all as apt as you are but he does have a line of other people to work with. Go do fifty push-ups.”

You wouldn’t believe the look of pure hatred Arthur shot Merlin. 

It had only been a week in a new school and the Principal had already condemned him to a season of torture. To make matters worse, it was _sports._ And what’s more than that it was with his arch-nemesis, and what is somehow far more terrible is that Arthur was pretty good at it. It was miserable watching him be good at something. It would’ve been far easier for Merlin to dismiss him if were just a complete idiot, but he clearly wasn’t. He was just angry for no reason.

Although, anyone would be angry if their dad was Principal Pendragon. 

Merlin got chills just thinking about his ten minute meeting with the man. Pendragon’s eyes bore holes in his skull. Merlin was pretty sure he didn’t blink once.

Maybe he’s a robot. We’ll never know.

Practice finally ended an hour later, after the team finished ramming themselves into each other.

_Maybe the reason they’re so vacant is because they give each other so many concussions._

The thought made him smile to himself in the locker room. He took a shower. It was hot out, and even though he just sat there the whole time, he was sweating. 

When he got out, there was a small hand towel where he had set down his clothes. 

_Oh God._

He dried as much of himself as he could with it. Merlin started to search for anything he could use to cover himself before he went out to flay Arthur alive.

Just then a man walked in, and stepped back around the row of lockers when he saw that Merlin was naked, to give him some privacy.

“Hey, sorry. I just saw some of the guys walk the other way with a pile of clothes. Did they take yours? Do you want to borrow my gym shorts? I’m Lance by the way.” 

“That would be amazing, thank you.”

Lance held out his ugly grey shorts for Merlin to take.

He had amazing hair. _Christ, he’s pretty._

“Arthur isn't usually this bad.”

“I guess I just piss him off.”

“Yeah… I saw what you did the other day. It was really brave of you.”

“It was something… I think stupid is maybe a better word for it.” Merlin smiled.

Lance smiled too.

“He’s not used to people standing up to him. He’ll come around... eventually.” 

  
  
  


Merlin’s first game was about a week and a half after he started as the coach’s ‘assistant’. 

By then he had made friends with most of the footballers. Except, of course, the quarterback, who had become more quiet than spiteful. 

Merlin suspected that one or all of them had talked to Arthur about the absurdity he brought to the situation, and he relented.

Merlin had been told by Gwaine to keep his eyes out for Vivian, and then he would understand Arthur’s stress. 

He understood everything when he heard a squeal from the sidelines, and a small but equally blonde girl bounded towards the quarterback after he ran a touchdown. Merlin heard her over the whole applause and hollering of the crowds.

He felt a headache coming on.

“Need an Aspirin yet?” Percy joked to Merlin.

“Ask me again in about fifteen minutes.” 

_I guess this is Vivian._

Merlin had seen her walking around school. She was in just about every club she could be a part of. She was always loud and always had just enough energy to be completely annoying.

She leapt into his arms, which carefully held her in place. 

“Does she do that _everytime_?”

“Pretty much.”

“So that’s why his legs are basically tree trunks.”

Percy choked on his water. He tried to wipe his mouth but he was laughing too hard. 

Merlin noticed Gwen, and her beautiful friend in the stands and joined them after a while.

“Ayyye Merlin! I didn’t know you were on the team!” Gwen shrieked. 

“I’m not, I’m just the waterboy.” he turned to the other girl, “you know, you showed me the school for forty-five minutes last week and you never told me your name.”

The girl laughed in the excitement. “It’s Morgana! You work with my brother, I had no idea!” 

“Who's your brother?”

“Arthur Pendragon, you know him, right?” 

Merlin turned pale. They looked nothing alike. It took him a minute to recover.

“You could say that…”

  
  


Merlin, Morgana, and Gwen became fast friends. He was invited over to the Pendragon household a few times over the course of the next month, but he always declined. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hang out.

At one point, Merlin was sitting on the bench in the locker room, tying his sneakers, when Arthur approached him calmly for once (or as calmly as he was capable). 

“I can’t imagine why she invited you over, but Morgana said that she’s asked a few times and you always say no.” He spoke as though his parents were making him apologize, but he didn’t really mean it. “Do you want to date her? Are you afraid of me, is that it? Cause I didn’t think you were the type to let that stop you.”

Merlin was speechless. Arthur had never directly spoken to him without the goal of instilling fear.

“No, I’m not… I’m not interested in her like that.”

Arthur sighed. “Then what is it?”

“D’you really care?”

“I just want her to stop telling me about it.” He scowled. The Signature Arthur Pendragon Look of Doom.

Merlin stopped for a second. 

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Merlin said focussing on his shoelace.

“You what?”

“I mean, you already have to deal with me in your hobbies, you shouldn’t have to feel invaded in your own home.” Merlin glanced up. Arthur was quiet, and looked vaguely confused. 

“Come on, ladies, get on the field!” The coach called. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all... you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to try to write these characters as modern American teens, and still try to accurately depict them.


	3. Things start to happen

Now that he had been introduced (sort of) to Vivian (they hadn’t actually met), Merlin saw her everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere Arthur was. She sat in his lap during lunch when she wasn’t tutoring some poor student. Arthur looked at her fondly, but she was always gleaming. It made Merlin want to barf.

He ate his lunch on his usual bench. He was quite content people watching. Most of the knights had other lunch blocks, so they didn’t bother him. In fact, Arthur didn’t even have this lunch block, he just hung around with Vivian because she was too busy after school.

Merlin started to actually enjoy helping out during practice. He found himself counting down the hours of classes until he could either be reading in the bleachers or joking around with his friends. It was kind of an ideal situation.

This afternoon he was totally engrossed by “The Count of Monte Cristo,” he couldn’t peel his eyes away for a second, until he felt something dripping on him. Just as he looked up, a huge splash of water tumbled down.

He gasped at the iciness and threw the book out of the way.

Arthur was standing over him laughing. Merlin was angry for a second, but then he looked at him. Arthur’s laugh wasn’t predatory, it was almost playful.

It was a side of him that Merlin had never really been a part of.

“C’mon, Waterboy. You’ve already forgotten to do your job, now everyone’s already left.” He could see the team starting to walk towards the locker room.

Merlin tugged up the hem of his shirt to wipe his face. He caught Arthur looking at his exposed midriff. 

“What? Do I have something…?” Merlin looked down at his stomach. It was looking like it’s usual pasty white self. A vague treasure trail over lean muscles, but nothing was out of the ordinary.

Arthur’s gaze snapped up. He stiffly shook his head. 

Merlin was confused. He dragged wagon that carried the two massive water coolers behind him as they made their way to go change.

“So this is what you’d look like if you ever broke a sweat.” Arthur teasingly wrapped his finger around one of Merlin’s rogue curls.

Merlin felt his face flush. 

_What the hell is he doing. Is this him trying to be friendly?!_

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not as good as what you look like though. I swear, your face gets so red I put 911 on speed dial.” 

Arthur scoffed. 

Merlin left to clean out the coolers and put away the equipment. 

He was half way through dressing when he picked up the book and realized it was sopping wet. He fanned the pages out in the hopes that it would dry easier.

A lot of the pages were completely ruined. 

Now Merlin would have to wait to find out what happens until he got a new copy!

He tugged a shirt on and marched to find Arthur. 

When he found him sitting on a bench between the lockers, bare chested and on his phone, Merlin grasped the bit of Arthur’s skin where the neck met the shoulder, and leaned in behind him and whispered “you _owe_ me.” Then he slammed the soggy book into Arthur’s lap. 

A chill ran down Arthur’s spine, and a bulge grew in his pants. 

Maybe it was the touching, or the fact that his words were far more sultry than they were meant to be, but either way, it was apparent to both of them that Arthur's body reacted. 

The blond's cheeks grew red. He stood up abruptly.

“I’ll fucking buy you a new one! Don’t touch me.”

He stormed into the shower stalls way at the end of the room and yanked the curtain closed. 

Merlin just stood there.

“You alright, Merlin?” Lance offered.

“Fine, thanks.”

“What was that about?”

“I don’t know, honestly… He just sort of flew off the handle.”

“He does that sometimes.” Gwaine chipped in.

Arthur wasn’t at the practice after that. In fact, Merlin didn’t even see him for a few days, and once he had, Arthur had resorted to that colder version of himself that never spoke to him. Whatever happened in Arthur’s head seemed pretty important, so Merlin gave him space.

They didn’t need to be friends. 

They just had to be civil.

However, Morgana had finally worn him down and he agreed to hang out but only if Arthur was not in the house.

It was about a week after the incident that Merlin found himself in the Pendragon's massive foyer. He wasn’t even sure he knew what a foyer was, but it was french and fancy, just like the rest of their house. There had to be twice as many bedrooms as people living there. 

Morgana’s room was beautiful and bigger than Merlin’s living room. The walls were painted a deep purple and she had a few posters hanging in the corners, but nothing too embarrassing.

Gwen had already been there for an hour when Merlin arrived. The two of them gave him the grand tour (which included every single nook and cranny).He was completely enchanted. His mom’s cozy little two-bedroom apartment was plenty of space for the two of them, but this was a totally different world.

“Do you play piano?” He asked after having noticed the baby grand in the living room.

“No, but Arthur does.”

“Don’t fuck with me.”

“He does really! He’s played since he was a kid. Although he hasn’t so much recently.” 

Merlin paused before prodding, “Where is he today?”

“Don’t worry, I threw him out upon your orders. He won’t be back before dinner.” 

There was a brief silence. 

“D’you want to see his room?” Gwen asked. Morgana smiled and Merlin nodded.

They marched back up the stairs and down the hall from her bedroom. She swung open the door to reveal a surprisingly neat room. It all smelled like him. Merlin, of course, gazed at every picture, every trophy, until found evidence of a little blond boy. Merlin had to admit, puberty seemed to smile upon Arthur. He found what seemed like the most recent photo, with him in a suit with Vivian. _It must've been a school dance or something._

Then his eyes fell to the only thing out of place in the whole room. Merlin picked it up. It was a (non-soiled) copy of “The Count of Monte Cristo” which was teetering on the edge of his night stand. Merlin smiled. If the bookmark was any indication, then Arthur was more than half-way through the six-hundred and fifty page behemoth, and certainly further than Merlin had gotten. He realized this was likely the last thing he did before he fell asleep.

_Maybe he hadn’t gotten cold. Maybe he just stepped back._

For what reason, Merlin didn’t know.

He placed the book back where it was and the three left to do something else.

He thought about it again when he was trying to sleep. Maybe he had overreacted a little bit with the book thing, but honestly what he did wasn’t that harsh! 

_Arthur just took it harshly._ _But he was the one that started joking around first, he hated me and then he didn’t. He was almost flirty. Or maybe I misread the situation._

Merlin couldn’t help but notice that Arthur was a little delicate. It seemed like anything could set him off. 

The next day, Merlin waited until everyone else had already left for practice. Arthur was late. _Really_ late.

Merlin heard him in the locker room half way through practice. He walked up to him. 

“Hey, I wanted to say I’m sorry for the other day, and I’m not really mad about the book.”

Arthur ignored him with his casual arrogance, and continued to stare at his phone.

Merlin waited for an answer. 

He was hurt and he got angry that he apparently didn't even deserve a response. I guess we’re all prone to teenage rage.

In an(other) act of impulse, he shoved Arthur up against the lockers.

“Why are you ignoring me?!”

_Okay, that might’ve been harsh._

Arthur’s expression was not what he expected. It was confusion, but not anger. 

Before he knew what he was doing, Arthur pressed his lips to Merlin’s. 

He wanted to taste him again. It was innocent enough but it felt like there was something else. 

Arthur let a moment go before he let his eyes open again. 

Merlin saw his look of pure horror on his face and knew that he was probably wearing the same one.

“Fuck.”

His taste was still on his lips.

“I’m...I’m not gay.” Arthur whispered.

  
  


_Is that a statement or a question?_ Merlin wondered

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I write ridiculously long chapters that might seem slow to get to the point. I promise it'll pick up from here


	4. Never Would've Thought

Merlin was completely baffled.

“Was that just to get me back for last time?”

Arthur was silent, he just stared at the lips he’d kissed. Merlin stepped towards him and returned the favor, this time initiating it. He wanted to know if Arthur was just fucking with him.

Arthur was unsure at first, almost dissatisfied, but then he let himself lean in to it fiercely. The blond slipped his tongue in when he could. Merlin almost jumped when he felt a hand tugging on the waistband of his shorts. 

_He wanted a whole fucking love affair._

Merlin put his hand to Arthur’s crotch, _just to see_ , and sure enough, he was as hard as a rock. 

Arthur gasped at the contact, and pushed himself closer to Merlin.

It all seemed like Arthur was acting on a more primal urge than anything else. Or in other words, it wasn’t what he wanted so much as what his body needed.

This made Merlin smile.

It was then that Merlin understood, 

_He was repressed_

He slipped his hand into Arthur’s shorts, caressing him. Arthur buried one hand in the dark hair and the other wrapped itself around Merlin’s shoulder. The blond stuttered, mouth open, eyes focused on nothing. Their faces were no more than two inches apart and Merlin was watching him. 

Arthur panted so hard as he lazily looked up at the other man. 

His face in this moment would have been enough to make Merlin cum on the spot if he had been paying any sort of attention to his own needs. His hair was sticking up every which way, and Arthur’s cheeks were red with wanting. Never in Merlin’s wildest dreams would he have thought that Arthur would be moaning for him.

Arthur came hard and fast and completely soaked the front of his gym shorts.

“That was fast.” Merlin said with a gleam in his eye.

As Arthur was coming down, still breathing hard, he watched Merlin lick his fingers clean.

He thought he might get hard again.

All that Catholic Guilt and assumed Masculinity came and hit him at full force. 

“ _Jesus_ …”

Arthur thought he might throw up. Merlin saw this.

“Hey- are you alright?” 

“Fine.” Arthur b-lined to the showers. 

He could not believe he’d just let a man touch him like that. The worst part is that he had entirely enjoyed it. In fact, Arthur suspected that it might’ve been the best orgasm he’d ever had. And Vivian is no beginner when it comes to making people feel good.

_Fuck._

He didn’t want to think about it. And he _really_ didn’t want to think about that ridiculously sexy look on Merlin’s face when his hand slipped under the fabric of his shorts.

Arthur heard people filing into the locker room. He finished cleaning himself off.

_Practice must be done._

He heard one of them ask about him. Arthur turned the shower off to hear them better.

“Oh, yeah I saw him. He’s a little sick I think that’s all it is.” He heard Merlin say.

He was thankful he covered for him. 

He thought it was Percy who might’ve made a comment about how Arthur’s been off recently.

“Yeah, well… I think he’s got a lot on his mind right now.”

Before they could say anything he’d regret hearing he draped a towel around himself and walked out of the shower stall. 

“Hey! There he is! Where’ve you been Arthur?” 

He didn’t know what to say. He shot a knowing glance towards Merlin.

“I had a bad burrito at Chipotle the other day, so I’ve been taking it easy.” 

Merlin looked at him worriedly. 

  
  


Arthur didn’t sleep. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he’d cheated on his girlfriend. He knew he’d have to tell her, and he knew that she’d make a complete scene. She might even spontaneously combust. Either way, it was going to be complete hell.

He didn’t know what he was going to do about Merlin. There was just something about him, he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

Arthur didn’t want to close the book on him. He didn’t think he could if he wanted to. 

It was all so perfect.

Sometimes he caught himself thinking about Merlin. On the days he’d allow his mind to wander, he found it wandering towards places that his father would not be so proud of. 

What's worse is that when he stepped into his English class, he was met by blue eyes that widened upon visual contact. Merlin had been placed into his Honor's English class after testing out of the one he had previously been in. Gwaine and Lancelot were also in that class, they all sat at the same table, in fact. So that eased the blow a little bit. 

He hated that Merlin was giving him the space he thought he needed. Sometimes Arthur thought about pouncing on him in the changing room before practice, but he had neither the courage nor the security.

The season was ending in a few weeks and he would have to make some sort of move, or he would lose any excuse to talk to him again. 

  
  


Everyone was changing out of their sports clothes. Arthur was pretty sure he saw Merlin jump in the shower, and before he knew what he was doing, he snuck himself passed the curtain. Merlin jumped. 

“Arth-!”

Arthur put his hand across Merlin’s mouth and made a quiet shushing noise. 

He didn’t think any of the others noticed, but he turned the water pressure up just incase they made any more noise. 

Merlin was still vaguely confused. 

Arthur kissed him desperately. 

He wanted to taste him, really taste him this time. 

There wasn’t more than about four square feet of space, so there wasn’t a lot that could be done. 

Truthfully, he hadn’t thought this far in advance. He’d thought about getting on his knees for Merlin, but he really hadn’t had the faintest idea of how to suck his cock. 

Arthur looked down. 

Merlin was a lot bigger than he expected him to be. He didn’t think he was going to be able to fit that whole thing passed his lips.

The least he could do was try.

He heard the boys jabbering not to far past the curtain. Arthur put his finger to his lips and made the shushing sound again.

He kissed Merlin on the stomach and he shuddered. Then Arthur took him in his mouth. 

“Arthur-” Merlin whined.

Arthur looked up at him mischievously.

He could not believe he was doing this. Merlin was usually pale, but more recently he’d developed tan lines from practice. It was kind of alluring to see the part of his skin that the sun never touched.

_Fuck, he’s hot._

Arthur had never even seen another man’s penis in a sexual context (apart from porn), and he yet he had just leapt lips first into Merlin’s shower. He was tired of being disgusted at what his friends would think or what his father would think. He knew if he didn’t follow this through with Merlin til the end, that he might explode.

He tried to mimic the way he’d seen Vivian do it. 

Merlin’s knees buckled. 

Arthur’s fingers gripped his pasty thighs. 

“Art, you okay in there?” Gwaine asked half teasing from somewhere in the locker room.

Merlin’s eyes widened, and Arthur popped off after a second, “yeah fine, be out in a second.” 

“The boys and I were thinking of hitting up McDonald’s after you’re done in there.” Merlin covered his mouth to try not to laugh.

“Yeah fine whatever.” 

  
  


It took him a while, but eventually Merlin spilt in Arthur’s mouth with a hushed moan. When he was in his right mind, Merlin took the pad of his thumb and wiped of a piece of himself off the corner of Arthur’s mouth. 

They didn’t say anything. Arthur kissed him, turned the water off and left.

“Enjoy yourself in there?” Gwaine joked.

“You know, I always do.” Arthur retorted

  
 _Jesus Christ, what have I done to that poor kid_ Merlin smiled to himself.


	5. Merlin's Favorite Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of 'Driving Down to LA' by Ezra Furman

Merlin developed a game. It was his favorite.

He called it _How Uncomfortable Can We Make Arthur Pendragon_! He was developing a theme song and everything.

The rules were simple, do anything you want, just don’t get caught by anyone else.

Today, he was playing in English class. They were talking about some Transcendentalist work of literature, among their table mates. Arthur was in the midst of explaining his views on nature and man when Merlin, discreetly, under the table put his hand on Arthur’s thigh. 

Arthur sputtered mid sentence. 

“You okay, dude?” Gwaine asked.

“F-fine.” Arthur cleared his throat, “I’m fine, just inhaled some spit.”

“I hate it when that happens.” Merlin smiled. 

Arthur shot him a glare of death. Merlin’s hand wandered higher. Lance started talking about the text they were reading in class. “Where is that line you’re talking about?” Merlin asked. 

“It’s line twenty-seven.” 

“Ah! It’s right here! See, Arthur?” Merlin scooted his chair closer to him so that he could _show him the line,_ but really he was getting a better angle _._ Arthur’s face flushed as the hand caressed its destination, tugging a little bit.

He felt his breathing go heavy. Merlin said something about the text but he didn’t hear him. 

Lance eyed the two of them. Merlin let up, but not before running his fingers across his leg, undoubtedly making Arthur’s pants tighter and his position far less comfortable.

  
  
  


“That’s not fair I wasn’t paying attention!” Gwen shrieked.

“What am I supposed to remind you to tax me?” Merlin laughed.

“My railroads are my prime money makers!”

“Then you should’ve been paying more attention!” Morgana said.

Gwen stood up in a huff. “I’m going to make some popcorn, do any of you tax evaders want anything?”

“I’m fine thanks.” Merlin said.

He had been over to Morgana’s a few times now, and he was starting to get the hang of the way they interact. Usually the three sit in a circle on the floor talking and showing each other funny videos, then once that gets boring they either bake or pop in a movie or maybe find a boardgame... It was more fun than it sounded.

“Well that had to be the most thrilling round of monopoly I’ve ever played.” Morgana laughed when Gwen left.

“Yeah, who knew she’s never played before! Hey-where’s your toilet again, I always get lost.”

“Down the hall, last door on the left.”

Merlin got up. He didn’t really need to go, but he wanted to stretch his legs. He found the bathroom which was not as remarkable as he thought that it might be. He strolled past Arthur’s room. It was the same as the last time he saw it; ridiculously clean for a teenage boy. 

So far he’d never actually seen Arthur occupying this space. It felt foreign to Merlin. He couldn’t imagine the blond boy living here, despite the evidence that he did.

Without knowing why, he crawled on to his bed, and buried his face in his pillows. It smelled like him. It all smelled like him. It wasn’t repugnant by any stretch, it was just unique. 

Merlin rolled onto his back and stretched his limbs in every direction as far as they would go. He lied there for what felt like ages.

“I know it’s tempurpedic, Merlin, but try to keep it in your pants.”

Merlin smiled, having been caught. Arthur smiled too, closed the door and dropped his bag by his desk. 

“Is it always this clean?” 

“Are you always this nosy?” Arthur climbed into bed next to him, laying on his stomach. He sighed contentedly.

“Only with you.” Merlin rolled onto his side to see him better. Arthur scoffed and mirrored him. 

He looked over him. Arthur never noticed how angular Merlin’s face was. His cheekbones could probably cut someone.

_The renaissance painters would’ve loved him._

“That was a dirty little trick you played earlier.”

Merlin smiled, “You like that?”

Arthur nodded. “For the life of me, I cannot remember what we were supposed to be doing.”

Merlin laughed. “Me neither.”

In a tender moment Arthur reached out to brush some of Merlin’s hair out of his face. “You’re pretty.”

Merlin scoffed and pushed Arthur’s hand out of his face. “Shut up.”

 _I mean it,_ he wanted to say, _I’ve never felt like this._

He felt it stronger when Merlin looked up at him smiling. He couldn’t stop looking.

Eventually, Merlin rolled over and Arthur was staring at the back of his head. 

Arthur heard a muffled “I can’t imagine you living here.”

“What, in this house?” 

“No, this room.” 

“Why not?”

He faced him again.  
“It’s not...you.”

“What is me?”

“I don’t know.”

Merlin thought on this for a second. 

“You know, I’ve seen you naked more times than I’d care to admit, but-” 

This prompted a pillow thrown at his head.

“ _Mmph-”_ He emerged with ridiculous bedhead. “Come to think of it, I’ve even had my dick in your mouth, but I still don’t know what you do on the weekends. Actually, I know very little about you. What do you do in your free time?”

 _Think about you,_ he wanted to say.

“I play football.”

“Yeah, I know that. You read too.”

Arthur blushed, “you saw that?”

“We’re you really trying to hide it?” Merlin grinned, “Morgana told you I was coming over, that’s why you left.”

Conversation ran quiet. Arthur looked away because he knew that not too long ago, he would’ve despised the thought of Merlin being in his room.

“It’s funny isn’t it?” 

“Hm?” 

“Us-all this.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Arthur said leaning in to kiss him, partially because he was tired of talking but also because he didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about anything. All of this was so fucked. He knew that his friends wouldn’t understand, and he shuddered to think of his father’s reaction. Morgana would likely laugh at him.

There was a knock at the door. They jumped apart.

“Arthur?” she cooed from the other side, “Have you seen Merlin?”

Arthur got up and sat at his desk, “yeah, he’s in here. He’s helping me with my English homework.”

Morgana entered. 

“Merlin! You’re supposed to be my friend tonight. We’ve been looking for you, we thought you’d left.”

“I wouldn’t say we were friends.” Arthur quipped.

Merlin playfully smacked the back of his head as he left with Morgana. Arthur smiled to himself.

When Merlin closed the door behind him, almost immediately Morgana shot him “I’m glad to see you two getting along.” But it was more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah… he apologized to me for everything a while back.”

“That doesn’t sound like Arthur.”

“Yeah, well, apologize might have been a strong word. But we’re stuck together so we might as well get along.” 

“That’s very mature of you.” 

“It wasn’t really my decision.” Merlin laughed. “He kind of just decided out of the blue that I was worth his time.”

“Maybe he sees something in you.”

“...that’s one word for it I guess.”

Morgana was getting dangerously close to a subject that Merlin feared to talk about. He hadn’t even discussed about it to Arthur. He could feel that it was a bit of a sore spot for him, you know, with the denying it and all. 

Merlin knew full well that this kind of thing is really important to someone’s identity and that people need to discover for themselves who they are, without the help of someone who might’ve already figured it out for himself.He was nervous for Arthur’s official coming out, if it ever happens. He can get really angry and bitter and Merlin didn’t want him to be resentful of his friends and family, because they didn’t allow him to discover himself.

But fuck, he would do just about anything that Arthur asked him to do.

_just about._

  
  



	6. He who has a partner, has a boss

Merlin was getting in line to get his lunch. 

“Hey, Merlin. How’ve you been?” Lance was behind him. 

“Good, Lance. But we just saw each other yesterday. Practice, remember?” Merlin laughed.

“Yeah… hey I wanted to ask… do you know what’s up with Arthur?”

Merlin looked at him confused.

“It’s just that he’s been pretty quiet lately and I wanted to make sure he’s okay. Usually he’s quick to make a joke, but he’s different.”

Merlin put an apple on his tray.

_ Did he know? _

“And now it seems you two don’t even joke around, and you were inseparable for a while there. Do you think we should be worried?”

Lance reached for a side.

“No, Lance, I’m sure it’s fine. I just know he’s been… going through some stuff recently.”

He thought for a second.

“Is he like, depressed?”

They both grabbed water bottles and headed to pay.

“No- I’m not really at liberty to talk about it, but I think it’s mostly family stuff, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Merlin, can I ask you a question, and you don’t have to answer, but I have to know… are you and he…?” 

Merlin was not facing him but his eyes went wide. “Are we…?” He tried to buy himself a few extra seconds to decide what to say, but instead he kind of answered without answering.

“Together?” Lance offered.

Merlin swallowed. 

“No, we aren’t together or anything. I don’t think he’d be interested in me even if he wasn’t straight.” This was half true.

“I just thought because- you know, you two are like…  _ always _ together.”

_ Oh god. _

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Merlin tried to smile. 

They let it drop and walked to their table in the courtyard.

“It’s starting to get chilly, boys. We might have to find a table inside to commandeer.” Gwaine joked.

Vivian came storming outside and slammed her hands on their table.

“Have you seen Arthur?!” She raged.

The three of them shook their heads.

“God, he’s such a fucking _ prick.  _ He cheated on me did you know that?!”

Lance shot a glance towards Merlin.

“There you are, you asshole! I hope you like being single, after I’ve told every girl at this school not to touch you with a ten foot pole.” She ran to harass the blond that had just walked in.

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Arthur said coldly. 

She screamed and tramped off.

“God, Arthur what did you do?” Gwaine asked.

Arthur looked at each of their faces and sat diagonal to Merlin.

“I broke up with her this morning.” 

“You what?”

Arthur nodded, more interested in his meal. 

“Are you alright?” Merlin piped up.

Arthur looked at him thoughtfully, almost happy even.

“Yeah, I am,” then he looked at Gwaine, “it was fun for a while, but it just got to be a lot.”

“So you cheated on her?”

“...yeah.” 

“That’s kind of fucked up even for you, Arthur.” Gwaine said.

Arthur didn’t say anything.

“Who was it?”

“Gwaine!” Lance shot.

“What? I just want to know if she was worth it! To carry that shit on your conscience.” 

“Yeah it was,” Arthur almost smiled to himself, “Can we drop it now?”

Conversation was tense from then on out. It didn’t help when Percy strolled in and made a joke about it.

  
  


Later at practice, Arthur was slow to change. He sat on the bench in the locker room, shirtless, and shoes laid out neatly next to him. 

“C’mon, Prom King, practice is starting!” Percy shouted at him, leaving. 

“Just a second!” Arthur was verbally fighting off some of Vivian’s friends over text. 

Merlin plucked the iPhone out of his hands and plopped it in one of the shoes.

“Hey!-”

He then climbed on to Arthur's lap, legs wrapped around his waist, “that’s enough,” Merlin whispered.

Arthur leaned to kiss him but Merlin hesitated. “We shouldn’t have cheated on her.” 

“ _ We _ ?”

“Well, I knew that you were dating her and I still kissed you, so it’s my fault too.”

“Merlin,” 

He never got used to his name coming from  _ his _ lips. He had chills.

“All of this is my problem, you don’t have to worry about it. Plus it’s over now, so we can do whatever we want. And right now I want to kiss the shit out of you.”

“Wow, you are  _ romantic _ .”

Arthur chuckled and gripped Merlin’s thighs and wrapped an arm around his lower back to hold him in place. He kissed him hard.

Merlin almost lost his balance. Recently, their making out started to turn into something a little heavier. 

Arthur had started thrusting just a little bit, just enough to make Merlin gasp. 

“Go out with me.” Arthur whispered between kisses. 

Merlin laughed, “I think we’re a little passed that.”

He found his tongue tasting Arthur’s lips.

“Go out with me.”

“No.”

“What?” Arthur pulled back a little bit, slowing down.

“C’mon, let’s not talk about it right now.” He tried to pick up where they left off, but Arthur was adamant.

“Is this one of your ‘push me till I say yes’ kind of things?”

“No.” Merlin looked at him hard. “I’m not the dating kind of person.”

“Why not?” 

Merlin’s expression softened.

“He who has a partner has a boss.” Merlin smiled. He got to his feet. “You of all people should know that, Arthur.”

He thought for a second.

“Is that from the book?” Arthur laughed, “Do you know how pretentious you are?”

“No,” Merlin pressed his hands on Arthur’s knees and kissed his nose, “why don’t you tell me.”

“You’re completely ridiculous.” 

“Isn’t that why you keep me around?”

“Go on a date with me.”

Merlin sighed in frustration.

“Arthur, what about our friends? D’you honsetly think they’ll be okay with this?”

“I don’t care about them.”

“And your dad! C’mon, he would throw you out.”

“I’ll figure something out.”

All the joking aside, this pained Arthur. He thought that was surely where this relationship was going, but Merlin pushed back. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know how to date a man. He hadn’t ever thought about it before Merlin walked into his life. And now, it felt like Merlin was happy to walk out of his life, almost just as quickly.

He changed something in Arthur, and now he couldn’t imagine not dating him. 

He wanted to take him to fancy restaurants, and take him to bed, and not leave until well into the next afternoon.

Arthur thought about this for a second.

Maybe he was gay.

_ That’ll be a headache to sort out for later. _

All he knew for certain was that he wanted Merlin in every way possible. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, you guys. I'm blown away at the responses to this fic. I love to hear from you, and I'm glad that you like it (or don't ) .
> 
> Thanks again !!


	7. Do You Love Me ?

“Arthur, I’ve noticed your grades have been slipping.” Uther stated, looking up from his salad. 

Arthur didn’t speak. 

“Is that going to be a problem?” Uther added.

“No.” 

“I’ve told you, if your grades fall below B’s, we’re going to have to talk.”

“They haven’t, so we don’t have to.”

“Are you giving me lip, boy?”

“No, sir... I’ll do better.” 

Dinner got tense. They ate in silence. 

Morgana followed him to his room after they all got up to go their separate ways. 

“What is up with you lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been like, sulky all week. Is the game freaking you out?”

Usually Arthur got nervous around the big homecoming game at the end of the season. It was a big deal and a lot was riding on it. Especially this year with all the scouters everywhere. 

However, this was not what plagued Arthur’s thoughts, this time. He couldn’t even put into words what he was feeling. He asked Merlin out nearly every day this week until Merlin got angry and told him to stop asking. 

The whole thing baffled him. 

Arthur was sick for him. 

The feeling came onto him hard and fast, like nothing he’d ever felt before, and that gave a sense of legitimacy to his pining for the boy. 

Arthur found himself thinking of Merlin during his most intimate moments. Even when he told himself he wouldn’t, his mind always wandered back. 

“Well??” Morgana disrupted.

“No, it’s nothing.”

He debated telling her.

“Arthur… you used to talk to me about things. Like, what the hell happened with Vivian?”

“You know about that?”

“Who doesn’t?!” 

“I’ve found someone else.”

Morgana stopped for a second. “Someone who causes this much strife?” 

“It has nothing to do with that.”

“Please talk to me. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I can’t!”

She looked horrified.

“You’d never look at me the same way.” Arthur stated sadly. He tried to finally slip into his room, but he was stopped by a firm grip on his arm.

“Arthur, you can tell me anything. You’re my brother.” She said this so earnestly.

He saw the desperation and sincerity in her eyes. 

He sighed, and opened the door to her. 

“Please don’t tell anyone.” he whispered, not wanting to look at her face, “I think I’m in love with Merlin and I don’t know what to do.”

She couldn’t conceal the surprise on her face. Morgana sensed that something was going on between the two of them, but she didn’t know it had reached that extent.

Finally she spoke. “Does he know?”

“Merlin? Yeah he knows, but he doesn’t want the same.”

“Which is…?”

Arthur hesitated. “I don’t know… I asked him out a few times.”

“You asked him out? You?! You didn’t even ask Vivian out, she just berated you until you said yes!”

“I know…”

Arthur let it go. He wished he’d never said anything.

“I hate to say it, but if he’s not interested you might just have to let him go.” She offered.

“That’s the hard part though! Because he seems interested by all definitions of the word, _especially_ when he-” He cut himself off.

“When he what?”

“...When he initiates it.” 

Her eyes went very wide and he could tell that she had a million questions to ask him and honestly, _thank god_ she didn’t have the courage in that moment to ask any of them.

“It just feels like he turned my life on it’s head and now is trying to walk out of it. I’m confused. And I’ve...I’ve never felt anything like this.”

She thought for a second. 

“Well, maybe he needs to know that you’re here for him completely.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Like, you come off as a massive fuck boy, and nobody wants to be an experiment. Maybe he wants to make sure that you won’t change your mind and throw him away. What you need is a grand gesture. A _10 Things I Hate About You_ , kind of thing.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Arthur, I honestly can’t imagine why he puts up with you. Do your even friends know?”

Arthur snorted, “I’m not sure they would be so forgiving.”

“Well, if this is important to you then this should be important to them... if they are your real friends, that is.” 

Arthur knew she was right. He also knew that part of his admiration for Merlin was due to a thoughtfulness that Arthur had never been shown before. 

_This whole thing is fucked._

What if he didn’t really like Merlin like that, what if he just wanted something new? And Merlin was there with undeniable interest.

He couldn’t sleep again. He kept himself awake. He was angry at himself and he just needed a change of scenery. 

Arthur got up and put on some sweatpants and a jacket. The tricky part was getting down the stairs. It was an old house and every step seemed to schriek. 

His feet took him to his car. 

Arthur drove aimlessly for a while, his mind bouncing from thing to thing. There was almost no one on the road. The clock said 2:47am.

Maybe he didn’t really love Merlin. Maybe Merlin was just secure in himself and it confused Arthur somehow.

_There was only one way to find out._

Arthur pulled up. He could see Merlin’s bedroom light was off, but the window was open.

_What an idiot. It’s like thirty degrees._

He only knew where he lived because he’d driven Merlin home after practice once or twice. Although that didn’t really explain why he knew that Merlin’s room was in the second story, second from the left...

_This is stupid._

He sat there with the radio running for a second before he turned it off. He didn’t know if it was stupid because he was at Merlin’s house in the middle of the night or because he sitting there trying to gather the courage to go inside.

He felt himself turn the car off. 

He got out.

It was cold as hell.

_“Merlin!”_ He hissed.

Nothing.

“Merlin, you idiot!”

His light turned on. After a second or two, the window was risen and he could just make out Merlin’s face at the window.

“Arthur? You’re going to wake up the whole street!”

“Better let me in then!”

Merlin rolled his eyes. 

Soon enough Merlin strolled out of the apartment complex, hugging himself. His hair was messy and he had bags under his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Arthur, what the hell are you doing here?!”

He didn’t really have an answer.

“You’ve seen where I live, it’s only fair.”

Merlin sighed, “you couldn’t wait until after school, or at least until a normal hour?”

“No, I couldn’t.”

Merlin hesitated, and then motioned for Arthur to follow him. 

“You do realize that we have to be at school in less than five hours, right?”

“Good, I can drive you then.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

They walked up a flight of stairs, and Merlin paused in front of his door. 

“We’re going to have to be really quiet.” Merlin whispered.

“Oh please. I’m a master of stealth.”

Merlin made a full stop, and looked at him hard. “You do realize who we’re talking about?” He smiled, “Because, I’ve never met a person who moans as loud as you.”

Then to shut him up, Merlin tossed him a devilish look and opened the front door.

Arthur flushed. 

_Was he really that loud? Oops._

Merlin’s apartment was nice. It had that kind of organized chaos feel to it. With books and pictures everywhere. Everything seemed to have a place.

And then they got to Merlin’s room.

“If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve cleaned a little, but here we are.”

“Here we are…” Arthur echoed. 

He almost didn’t mind the state of it. There were a few articles of clothing strewn across the floor and his desk was almost completely covered in books and papers, but it really wasn’t that messy. 

It felt like he was being bathed in Merlin. He saw the jacket that he wore everyday, and the books that he was always reading. 

It felt like a religious experience. 

Merlin hopped into bed.

He seemed so unwound, and off his guard. It was different and captivating.

Arthur followed him.

“D’you want to watch something?” He whispered, pulling out his laptop.

Arthur nodded, trying (and failing) to contain a smile.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all just read twenty five pages of fanfiction. They grow up so fast...


	8. Big Ass Finale

They laid uncomfortably far from each other for the duration of one and a half episodes of Parks and Recreation. This was reasonably difficult, considering the size of his bed seemed hardly capable of housing one body, let alone two.

Arthur was nervous, and was trying not to touch him. He didn’t know if he wanted something to happen so that he could prove to himself that his feelings towards Merlin were genuine, or if he didn’t want something to happen so that he could prove to Merlin that he would be happy if things remained platonic. 

The latter, of course, not being his preference. 

Over the course of two more episodes, they shifted closer, it may have been subconscious on Merlin’s part, but it was all Arthur could think about.

Arthur was having a quiet crisis until Merlin grabbed his arm and said, “I can hear your anxiety.” Merlin was not known for his subtlety. 

“What’s up?” he added, looking at Arthur and making his heart beat even faster.

Arthur didn’t speak for a moment. He tried to come up with some non-threatening, non-cringe inducing answer, but he couldn’t.

“How did you know you were gay?” He hadn’t even felt the words come out of his mouth, but suddenly they were, just hanging in the air.

Merlin turned and looked at him with his full body, giving him his undivided attention. 

“I don’t.” 

Arthur was a bit baffled and Merlin could tell that he needed more of an explanation so he piped up again. “I don’t really know what I am. I do what I feel, and I’m comfortable with that.”

The blond’s brow furrowed. This answer didn’t suit him. He’d always just gone along with what he thought was needed of him, but now that didn’t seem like enough. 

Right now, with the light low, Merlin looked stunning. The moonlight streaming from his window illuminated his pale face. His hair stuck out everywhere, and sleep was close. He just looked incredibly unwound. Arthur wanted to see him like this everyday.

“I guess I’m just not as sure of myself as you are.” Arthur said, attention back on the laptop. 

Merlin waited for Arthur to look at him, but when he didn’t, he paused the show, closed the laptop, and put it on the bedside table.

Merlin wordlessly pushed Arthur’s shoulder to the bed so that he was lying flat on his back, and he climbed up to straddle him. 

Arthur’s face burned, and there was a deep arousal in his gut that was as heavy as the the weight sitting on his thighs. 

Merlin lifted his shirt, and snuck his hand under the hem of Arthur’s.

“Let me know if you want me to stop.” Merlin whispered, looking at him.

_I’m gay._ Arthur thought as Merlin licked a nipple. 

_I’m definitely gay- fuck!_

Arthur gasped as Merlin sank lower to peak under his sweatpants.

“Well I wouldn’t say the jury’s out quite yet, but so far, you definitely aren’t straight.”

_“Shut up!”_ Was all Arthur could choke out when Merlin wrapped his lips around him. 

The blond had to keep himself from blowing right at that second.

This was very close to the beginning of nearly all his recent fantasies. Except usually, it was Merlin crawling into his bed at night, and doing what ever he wanted with him.

He was so close. 

Merlin must’ve tasted precum because he popped off, and Arthur emitted a discontented sigh.

“How far do you want to go?” Merlin whispered in a low sultry voice.

Arthur could feel the warmth of Merlin’s face on his thigh, and his breath on his cock. He could hardly process the words that were aimed at him. He was hot. Anything would have set him off.

“Yes.” Was all he muttered.

Merlin laughed, “ _Yes._ ”

He licked the tip. Arthur groaned.

“Shh.” Merlin said half serious. 

Then he kissed his thigh. 

Merlin was watching him intently, with a look of amusement that said, _This is all for you._

Then he kissed his taint.

Arthur shuddered. He was close. This might be the fastest round he’s ever had.

Then Merlin went a little lower and the blond couldn’t help it. The whole situation was completely perfect, and Arthur knew that he would be thinking about it for a long time. The tension finally spilt over and he leaked onto himself with a moan. His body was filled with warmth and it all felt good. 

It was ridiculous what Merlin could do to him with a kiss. 

“How do you do that?” Arthur panted.

Merlin looked at him thoughtfully, running his finger in circles on Arthur’s thigh.

“Which part?”

“You’re just...you’re _ridiculous._ ” Arthur laughed at the sentiment. Of all people, he never would’ve suspected that a man could make him feel the way that he did. Especially not Merlin.

But one kiss to the most personal part of his body and it was all over.

“Maybe I just know you,” he said, getting some tissues and wiping up the mess.

“How many times have you done that with someone?”

Merlin didn’t speak for a second. “I’ve never done that.” He stated quietly. “I just do what I fantasize you doing to me.” 

He smiled to himself. He couldn’t believe he was saying this outloud, to Arthur no less.

“You fantasize about me?” Arthur nudged. 

Merlin scoffed, and looked directly at him in a challenging way, “Yeah I do.” 

Arthur didn’t want to bring it up again, but he had to know. 

“So, why won’t you date me?”

Merlin’s smile faded. 

“Because I’ve never done this before... And you scare me.”

“I scare you?” Arthur sat up to give him his full attention. 

“Yeah. It’s hard to explain.”

“Try.” 

“It’s just… we don’t have a lot of time, and I know that if I get invested I’ll get torn apart when we have to leave,” he thought for a second, “Plus I’m not sure if this is something you really want.”

The blond couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was starting to get angry. 

“How would you know what I want?!” 

“Arthur, you don’t even know what you want! You told me you weren’t gay after you kissed me!”

He couldn’t argue with that. 

_Maybe he doesn’t like me the way that I think I like him._

Arthur’s stomach dropped at the thought. Had he been outed and left to be alone?

Merlin felt his anguish. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t think of anything that could make it better. 

They laid in silence, before Merlin rolled over, their faces not more than an inch or two.

Merlin put his hand to Arthur’s cheek, and traced his jaw line with his thumb. He didn’t meet his eyes when he whispered, “If we had more time, we would spend it all in my bed.” He said it as a hopeful statement, not a hesitant reproach.

Arthur smiled and brought them together. He kissed him gently. Neither of the boys had the energy to go deeper. In fact, they fell asleep that way. Completely enrapt in each other.

  
  
  
  


And they were wrecks the next day. Running on three hours of sleep is not an easy task. Not to mention the big game that was quickly approaching. But they were happy.

Arthur decided to do something big for Merlin. He knew what he wanted to do, but he’d need help. He’d have to tell his friends. 

He decided to just get it over with and tell them all at once. Just before practice, he herded them all in the locker room. 

“So, I want to ask someone out on a date and I want to do something big, but I need help.”

“Who’s the lucky lady?” Percy quipped.

Arthur flushed. If he didn’t get it out now, it would never come. 

“It’s, uh… not?”

“Not what?” Gwaine asked.

“Not a girl…”

There was silence for a second.

“...Is it one of us?” Percy smartly asked.

“What? No. Don’t be stupid.” 

“What’s so stupid about us? We’re good looking guys!” Percy joked, “Well… maybe not Leon… but the rest of us!” 

“Hey!” Leon interjected.

“Who is it?” Lance said, knowing the answer.

“It’s um… it’s Merlin.”

“Fuck!” Percy shouted.

“Pay up, Percival!” Gwained held out his hand.

“You guys placed bets?!” 

“Arthur, buddy, you two aren’t exactly discreet.”

Arthur’s ears went red. 

“Yeah, there were times I thought I was walking in on a porn se-”

“Okay! Okay. Just help me do something for him,” Arthur shouted.

“We can figure something out.” Gwaine smiled.

  
  
  


It was the big night. The homecoming game was in four hours. He was nervous but not for football. At practice, Arthur’s head was in the stands with the Waterboy. He tried to get himself to focus on his performance. Football was easier if you didn’t think about it. 

Time was ticking. 

Arthur cornered him after practice. He was sweaty, and tired but he needed something to hold him over, so he didn’t wreck his nerves. Arthur wordlessly pulled him into a shower stall, after everyone had left and went at him. He ripped off Merlin’s shirt and tugged their pants down. It was wet and dirty, they way he liked it. 

He spit on his hand and wrapped it around both of their cocks. Merlin immediately pricked up.

“ _Jesus_ , Arthur, where’d you learn that one.” Merlin gulped.

He placed his hand over Arthur’s feeling the rhythm and guide him. It was wildly intimate despite the circumstances.

“I learn from the best.” Arthur kissed him.

Merlin spit out a laugh. They were both groaning between strokes. It was hard to focus. 

“You licked your fingers - _ah!_ \- the first time you stuck your hand in my pants, and so far - so far there hasn’t been a time since, that I - _fuck,-_ I haven’t thought about it.” Arthur moaned.

“Shut up and go faster,” Merlin gulped, “oh _fuck_.”

Merlin came and then Arthur. The blond gave them a more squeeze for good measure, making Merlin sputter.

“You came first. I win this round.”

“Oh, is that how this works?” Merlin snickered.

Arthur nodded.

“I think that means that you’ve won once in like ten rounds.”

Merlin said looking mischievously at his lips before kissing him.

“ _Mmm_ \- maybe I’ll win the next ten.” 

He really couldn’t get enough of him. He hoped that everything went well. 

  
  


It was time. The team broke through that horribly tacky paper-made school insignia and sieged the field. The crowd cheered and whistled, and there was confetti with the school colors, red and yellow, falling like snow. It felt like a dream. The band played, the cheerleaders cheered, and the colorguard twirled. Arthur spotted Merlin in the first row on the bleachers, clapping and cheering for him.

His gut burned. He grinned widely

_This is all for you_ , he thought.

He also saw his father standing next to the coach, and tried not to think about him. It was these moments that mattered. The ones he would think about ten years from now.

The Dragons were winning by a few points by half-time. Arthur had fumbled the ball once or twice and he knew his nerves were getting the best of him.

When the break hit, the cheer leaders started to do a routine, but Percy shuffled them off the field. Gwaine found a mic and went to center field. His long hair was plastered to his face with sweat, but he was still smiling. He was never _not_ smiling.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, we have a special half time show for you,” he announced.

Arthur came up behind him, ready to take the mic. He saw Uther’s confusion from where he stood. The band followed behind him.

“Our very own quarterback is going to perform,” Gwaine concluded passing the mic to Arthur. His palms were sweaty, not as much from the playing as from what he was about to do.

“I am so sorry you all have to witness this,” He said half laughing, “but there’s someone very special in the crowd tonight, and because I’m so unoriginal, I decided to announce it to all you. So please, if you would be so kind as to hold your laughter until I am finished, that would be much appreciated. I will no doubt hate myself tomorrow. Thank you.” That stifled some chuckles among the crowd but most of them just looked confused.

“What’s going on?” Merlin asked Morgana in the stands. She shrugged with a very knowing look. Gwen pointed his attention back to Arthur, who was staring at him from the field.

_“_ _You're just too good to be true, I can't take my eyes off you,”_ Arthur choked out the first lines. He was nervous and he’d rarely sang in front of others if it wasn’t accompanied by his piano. 

_“You'd be like heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much,”_

He gained a little confidence knowing that the initial shock was over. He was actually a really good singer.

_“At long last love has arrived, And I thank God I'm alive,”_

Gwen and Morgana were beaming at Merlin, who was standing there with an open mouth. 

“ _You're just too good to be true, Can't take my eyes off you,_ ” Arthur pointed directly to Merlin, and everyone saw. The blond smiled at him. 

_Holy shit_

Merlin’s stomach flipped. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man with the microphone. It was almost as though there was no one else there. Just Arthur, making a very romantic fool of himself in the name of honesty. 

And then the band started. They marched the grand field as Heath Ledger would have them do. The crowd cheered for him. 

He did the stupid little dance. Before he came in with the chorus.

_“I love you baby, And if it's quite all right, I need you baby, To warm the lonely nights, I love you baby, Trust in me when I say!”_

Arthur was performing for no one else. He was all smiles, and no shame.

_“Oh pretty baby, Don't bring me down I pray, Oh pretty baby, Now that I've found you stay, And let me love you, baby, Let me love you,”_ the band continued, but Arthur was out of breath, “Merlin Emrys, as all these people as my witnesses,” he paused, “will you PLEASE go on a date with me?”

The crowd cheered and hollered on top of the brass.

Merlin was shocked. He didn’t know what to say. He certainly said something, but no one heard him. 

Arthur dropped the mic in the closest hand and ran across the field to his lover.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Uther yelled, as he passed.

But he didn’t hear him or he didn’t care. He hopped up the two foot riser, gripping the iron fence that stood between them on the ledge and met Merlin.

“What d’you say?” Arthur whispered, beaming at him.

Merlin didn’t say anything. 

Instead, he wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed the shit out of him. 

Arthur wanted to hold him back, but his balance wasn’t good when he was preoccupied in moments like these. He started to sway and Merlin gripped him harder. 

They pulled back laughing. Merlin looked at him with the most brilliant grin. He nodded ecstatically. Neither of them heard anything that was happening around them. 

It didn’t matter.

No one had ever done anything like this for Merlin. He would never forget it in all his life. He felt truly loved, and that was something he’d never dreamt of. 

And Arthur had never before felt more like his genuine self than in that moment. He didn’t care who knew.

The rest of the night was a blur. The Dragons won, obviously. Merlin and Arthur left their homecoming dance early, but not before dancing for an hour, a shower of congratulations, and being given a box of condoms by Percy. (Of which they were likely to use later.)

Arthur drove the two of them to Merlin’s afterwards, whose mom coincidentally had something come up at work and wouldn’t be home until very late. 

Merlin could hardly wait until they passed through the door to get started; it was a combination of adrenaline, teenage lust, and pure admiration. 

They found themselves nearly naked in his bed, going slow this time. (Or at least slower than they have been going.) 

At one point Merlin broke away from the kiss, “For God’s sakes, Arthur, why didn’t you ask me sooner?!” 

“Oh shut the fuck up!” Arthur playfully pushed his face away, and somehow that turned into a wrestling match. 

They both collapsed breathlessly on the small mattress. They looked at eachother. Arthur caressed Merlin’s lip with the pad of his thumb. Merlin kissed it, in a tender moment.

“You know, you really are beautiful, Merlin.”

“Do you ever stop?” He said bashfully.

Arthur smirked,

“Never.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter as a valentine's day gift for all you!  
> This has been super difficult to write considering I don't know a damn thing about football.
> 
> Anyways! Thank you for your support!


End file.
